Rissho Ankoku Ron-Conclusion
The guest said;
"If we are to put an end to these people who slander the Law and do away with those who violate the prohibitions of the Buddha, then are we to condemn them to death as described in the passages from the sutras you have just cited? If we do that, then we ourselves will be guilty of inflicting injury and death upon others, and will suffer the consequences, will we not!
In the Daijuku Sutra, the Buddha says,"If a person shaves his head and puts on clerical robes, then, whether that person observes the precepts or violates them, both gods and men should give him alms. In doing so, they are giving alms and support to me, for that person is my son. But if men beat and abuse that person, they are beating my son, and if they curse and insult him, they are reviling me." If we stop to consider, we must realize that, regardless of whether one is good or bad, right or wrong, if he is a priest or monk, then he deserves to have alms and nourishment extended to him. For how could one beat and insult the son and still not cause grief and sorrow to the father! The Brahmans who beat the Buddha's disciple Maudgalyayana to death with their staves have for a long time been sunk in the hell of incessant suffering. Because Devadatta murdered the nun Utpalavarna, he has gone on and on choking in the flames of the Avichi Hell."
Examples from earlier ages make the matter perfectly clear, and later ages fear this offense most of all. You speak of punishing those who slander the Law, but to do so would violate the Buddha's prohibitions. I can hardly believe that such a course would be right. How can you justify it!
The host said;
"You have clearly seen the passages from the sutras that 1 have cited, and yet you can ask a question like that! Are they beyond the power of your mind to comprehend! Or do you fail to understand the reasoning behind them!
I certainly have no intention of censuring the sons of the Buddha. My only hatred is for the act of slandering the Law. According to the teachings of the Buddhas who lived prior to Shakyamuni, slanderous priests would have incurred the death penalty. But in the sutras preached since the time of Shakya- muni, priests of this type have merely been prevented from receiving alms. Now if all the four kinds of believers within the four seas and the ten thousand lands would only cease giving alms to wicked priests and instead all come over to the side of the good, then how could any more troubles rise to plague us or disasters come to confront us!
With this the guest moved off his mat in a gesture of respect, straightened the collar of his robe, and said;
"The Buddhist teachings vary greatly and it is difficult to investigate each doctrine in full. I have had many doubts and perplexities and have been unable to distinguish right from wrong. Nevertheless, this work by the venerable Honen, the Senchaku Shu, does in fact exist. And it lumps together all the various Buddhas, sutras, bodhisattvas and deities and says that one should "Discard, close, ignore and abandon" them. The meaning of the text is perfectly clear. And as a result of this, the sages have departed from the nation, the benevolent deities have left their dwelling places, hunger and thirst fill the world and disease and pestilence spread abroad.
Now, by citing passages from a wide variety of scriptures, you have clearly demonstrated the rights and wrongs of the matter. Therefore 1 have completely forsaken my earlier mistaken convictions, and my ears and eyes have been opened on point after point.
There can be no doubt that all men, from the ruler down to the common people, rejoice in and desire the stability of the nation and the peace of the world. If we can quickly put an end to the alms that are given to these icchantika and insure th ii continuing support is instead given to the host of true priests and nuns, if we can still these "white waves" that trouble the Ocean of the Buddha and cut down these "green groves" that overgrow the Mountain of the Law, then the world may become as peaceful as it was In the golden ages of Fu Hsi and Shen Nung, in ancient China and the nation may flourish as it did under the sage rulers Yao and Shun." After that, there will be time to dip into the Waters of the Law and to decide which are shallow doctrines and which are deep, and to pay honor to the pillars and beams that support the House of the Buddha.
The host exclaimed with delight;
"As the proverb says, the dove has changed into a hawk, the sparrow into a clam! How gratifying! You have transformed yourself through your association with me, and like the bramble growing in the hemp field, you have learned to stand up straight!
If you will truly light of this passage, we will see that the various spirits have for some time been rampant, and many of the people have perished. If the first predicted misfortune in the sutra has already occurred, as is obvious, then how can we doubt that the later disasters will follow! If, in punishment for the evil doctrines that are upheld, the troubles that have yet to appear should fall upon us one after the other, then it will be too late to act, will it not! Emperors and kings have their foundation in the state and bring peace and order to the age; ministers and commoners hold possession of their fields and gardens and supply the needs of the world. But if bandits come from other regions to invade the nation, or if revolt breaks out within the domain and people's lands are seized and plundered, how can there be anything but terror and confusion? If the nation is destroyed and families are wiped out, then where can one flee for safety!
If you care anything about your personal security, you should first of all pray for order and tranquillity throughout the four i-i quarters of the land, should you not?It seems to me that, when people are in this world, they all fear what their lot may be in the life to come. So it is that some of them put their faith in heretical teachings, or pay honor to those who slander the Law. It distresses me that they should be so confused about right and wrong, and at the same time I feel pity that, having embraced Buddhism, they should have chosen the wrong kind. With the power of faith that is in their hearts, why must they vainly give credence to heretical doctrines! If they do not shake off these delusions that they cling to but continue to harbor false ideas, then they will quickly leave the world of the living and fall into the hell of incessant suffering.
Thus the Daijuku Sutra says, "Though the ruler of a state may have for countless existences in the past practiced the giving of alms, observed the precepts and abided by the principles of wisdom, if he sees that my Law, the Dharma of the Buddha, is in danger of perishing and stands idly by without doing anything to protect it, then all the inestimable store of good causes that he has accumulated through the practicesjust mentioned will be entirely wiped out. ... Before long, the ruler will fall gravely ill, and after his life has come to an end, he will be reborn in one of the major hells. ... And the same fate will befall the ruler's consort, his heir, the high ministers of the state, the lords of cities, the village heads and generals, the magistrates of districts, and the government officials."
The Ninno Sutra states, "If a man destroys the teachings of the Buddha, he will have no filial sons, no harmony with his close relatives, and no aid from the heavenly deities. Disease and evil spirits will come day after day to torment him, disasters will descend on him incessantly, and misfortunes will dog him wherever he goes. And when he dies, he will fall into one of the three realms of Hell, Hunger or Animality. Even if he should be reborn as a human being, he will be destined to become a slave in the army. Retribution will follow as an echo follows a sound or a shadow follows a form. A person writing at night may put out the lamp, but the words he has written will still remain. It is the same with the destiny we create for ourselves in the threefold world."
The Second volume of the Lotus Sutra says: "One who refuses to take faith in this sutra and instead slanders it.... After he dies, he will fall into the hell of incessant suffering." And in the Fukyo chapter in the seventh volume, it says: "For a thousand aeons they dwelt in the hell of incessant suffering and underwent great pain and torment." In the Nirvana Sutra we read: "If a man separates himself from good friends, refuses to listen to the True Law and instead embraces evil teachings, then as a result he will sink down into the hell of incessant suffering, where he will experience indescribable torment."
When we examine this wide variety of sutras, we find that they all stress how grave a matter it is to slander the Law. How pitiful that all men should go out of the gate of the True Law nd enter so deep into the prison of these perverse dogmas! How stupid, that they should fall one after another into the nares of these evil doctrines, and remain for so long entangled n this net of slanderous teachings! They lose their way in these nists and miasmas, and sink down amid the raging flames of hell. How they must grieve! How they must suffer!
Therefore you must quickly reform the tenets that you hold in your heart and embrace the one true vehicle, the single good doctrine of the Lotus Sutra. If you do so, then the threefold world will all become the Buddha land, and how could a Buddha land ever decline! The regions in the ten directions will all become treasure realms, and how could a treasure realm ever suffer harm ! If you live in a country that knows no decline or diminution, in a land that suffers no harm or disruption, then our body will find peace and security and your mind will be calm and untroubled. You must believe my words, heed what I say!
The guest said:
"Since it concerns both this life and the lives to come who could fail to be cautious in a matter such as this, who could fail to agree with you! Now when I examine the assages you have cited from the sutras and see exactly what the Buddha has said, I realize that slandering is a very grave offense indeed that violating the Law is in truth a terrible sin. I have put all my faith in one Buddha alone, Amida, and rejected all the other Buddhas. I have honored the three Pure Land sutras and set aside the other sutras. But this was not due to any distorted ideas of my own conception. I was simply obeying the words of the eminent men of the past ages. And the same is ue of all the other persons in the ten directions who follow the Pure Land teachings. But now I realize that to do so means to exhaust oneself in vain, futile efforts in this life, and to fall into the hell of incessant suffering in the life to come. The texts you have cited are perfectly clear on this point and their arguments are detailed they leave no room for doubt. With your kind instruction to guide me, I have been able bit by bit to dispel the ignorance from my mind. Now I hope we may set about as quickly as possible taking measures to deal with these slanders against the Law and to bring peace to the world without delay, thus insuring that I may live in safety in this life and enjoy good fortune in the life to come. But it is not enough that I alone should accept and have faith in your words--we must see to it that others as well are warned of their errors!